DELHI — The growth of India’s burgeoning pleasure products sector is the subject of an in-depth feature published by India’s CNBC affiliate on Monday.

The report by Aditi Sharma notes that “India’s pleasure economy is seeing a steady addition of brands, from startups to established pharma companies, and increasingly the spotlight is on reducing the prevalent pleasure gap for women.”

Sharma points out that although outsiders may think of India as the country that birthed the Kama Sutra, many contemporary Indians still feel awkward around frank discussions of sex and pleasure, particularly women’s personal pleasure.

When Netflix streamed a short film by Karan Johar focusing on female pleasure, as part of the network’s “Lust Stories and the Pleasure Economy in India,” however, Sharma noticed a turning point. 

“The urban, educated, independent Indian woman may well be standing in stark contrast to the coy desi woman trope,” Sharma writes. “Unlike in most western countries where one can walk right into an adult store and take your pick, here at home, the choices are relatively limited, even for those who know what to look for. A majority of Indians are yet to be introduced to the concept of pleasure toys.”

The article highlights local sex-positive initiatives such as filmmaker Paromita Vohra’s website Agents of Ishq, “The Sex Podcast” by popular influencer Leeza Mangaldas and the increased visibility of pleasure product retailers IMBesharam, Love Treats, MyMuse and MsChief.

Raj Armani, founder of IMBesharam, told CNBC, “Post-pandemic, we noticed a major shift in acceptance and perceptions. Starting from movies and shows on TV, we were introduced to vibrators and it was OK for a housewife to want to try pleasure gadgets, for wedding gifts to include sex toys and for various celebrities and artistes to talk about their sexuality and preferences when it comes to sex toys.”

IMBesharam, Sharma reports, “has seen traffic grow by 30%, user base increase over 35% and revenues grow 110% over the last 2 years.”

“Currently, we have 58% revenue from sex toys for women and 42% from men,” Armani explained. “In February 2023, we clocked the highest revenues for a single month surpassing over Rs 3 crore and delivering over 4,200 orders. Bengaluru is the top city in terms of sales, with Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai a close second,  third and fourth. Metros make up 62% of our revenue, and 36% revenue comes from Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities and towns.”

To read “Pleasure economy — Sex, toys and the million-buck feeling,” visit CNBCTV18.com.

Apr 12, 2023 3:24 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — Domestic Femdom has debuted “The Squid Shame,” a clip series parody of Netflix’s “The Squid Games.”

The first two clips feature Cate McQueen and Mxtress Valleycat as Young-Hee dolls, as well as Eyemblacksheep as a contestant.

In the first clip, “Ruined by Sweaty Sock Orgasm,” Valleycat and McQueen dominate Eyemblacksheep.

In the next clip, “Red Light Green Light Pegging,” McQueen plays a Young-Hee doll who pegs a contestant.

“I have lots of ideas for ‘Squid Game’ scenes,” said Eyemblacksheep. “I had a shoot planned with Cate McQueen and she had mentioned wanting to do some geek parody scenes, so I suggested using this to start the ‘Squid Game’ series.”

Follow Domestic Femdom on Twitter.

Apr 12, 2023 1:57 PM PDT

LONDON — Sara St. Clair is featured in an article from the U.K.’s Daily Star.

Titled “Loner Video Game Addict Turns Heads in the Adult Industry” and written by Liam McInerney, the piece “explores Sara’s love for gaming and how it has led her down the path to adult entertainment,” a rep said.
 
St. Clair also discusses how Barbie inspired her.

“Barbie was my first introduction to the world of glamour and beauty,” St. Clair tells McInerney. “She inspired me to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and gave me the confidence to be myself.”
 
To read the full interview, click here.

Follow Sara St. Clair on Twitter.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — XR Brands has introduced Slinger, a new sex sling from its Master Series BDSM collection.

The lightweight sling is made from heavy-duty ballistic nylon with a weight capacity of 661 pounds, and features removable stirrups and six included carabiners. It can be mounted on the ceiling or used with a sex swing stand.

“The Slinger is an essential sex room addition,” said XR Brand President Rebecca Weinberg. “Not only is it lightweight and comfortable, but it’s also super secure so users can play easy knowing that it’s safe. So many shoppers are outfitting home dungeons these days and we are thrilled to expand the award-winning Master Series line with accessible, high-quality equipment that meets their needs.”

For more information, visit XR Brands online or email info@xrbrands.com.

Apr 12, 2023 1:38 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — Coxxx Models has signed Leo Babe to its roster for exclusive representation.

The Portland, Oregon-based creator has been releasing content for seven years, and will be moving into studio shoots.

“We are pleased to introduce Leo Babe to the Coxxx Models team,” said agency honcho Connor Coxxx. “She is a great addition to the agency – she has a great energy, enthusiasm and dedication to making great content, and we are excited to add her to our roster of talented performers.”

Visit Babe’s Coxxx Models profile; follow her on Twitter.

Apr 12, 2023 1:32 PM PDT

PATTAYA, Thailand — Grooby producer/performer Jamie Kelly is the latest guest on “Adult Site Broker Talk.”

The multiple Trans Erotica Award (TEAs) winner discusses her career in trans porn.

“When it comes to trans porn, Jamie has seen and done it all in her 16 years in the business,” said Adult Site Broker CEO and podcast host Bruce. “She’s astute, engaging, and amusing. We had a great time. The interview seemed like a trans porn history lesson.”

Listen to the interview here.

Follow Adult Site Broker on Twitter.

Apr 12, 2023 1:26 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — J. Hustles is the latest guest on “The Lisa Ann Experience.”

The recording artist talks about his childhood, musical background and new EP, The Wasted Time.

“Lisa Ann has a way of comforting you in an interview and sensing where you want to go and guiding you to that topic,” said Hustles. “After only talking to her for a short while, I felt like we’d been friends for ages.”

The full interview can be viewed here.

Follow J. Hustles and Lisa Ann on Twitter.

Apr 12, 2023 1:19 PM PDT

HOUSTON — Mistress Marley will host the Goddess Brunch on Saturday April 29 at 2 p.m. (CDT) at a Houston location TBA.

The four-hour gathering will bring women of all backgrounds together to learn the art of domination safely and in a networking environment.

“Guests will be able to practice on real subs while learning skills to begin their own journey,” Marley said. “This time, I’m bringing it to Houston to see how the women down Texas way can show off.”

For tickets to Goddess Brunch, click here.

Follow Mistress Marley on Twitter.

MIAMI — Anna Kovachenko and Lana Blade star in a new footjob scene from FMN.Network.

The scene is directed by and also features Eli Thomas.

“We are incredibly excited to release this scene and showcase the incredible talent of these amazing performers,” a rep said. “Anna Kovachenko and Lana Blade are two of the most exciting actresses in the industry today, and their chemistry is simply electric.”

“Ukrainian Girls Rages War Over Cock” is streaming on FMN.Network.

Follow Anna Kovachenko and Lana Blade on Twitter.

PHOENIX — Arizona legislators, including several GOP members, raised serious questions about a Republican senator’s project to implement mandatory age verification for adult websites in the state.

The bill, SB 1503, was introduced by Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) and is a copycat version of Louisiana’s Act 440, a new law enacted in January after being championed by a religious anti-porn activist Republican legislator.

Rogers’ bill would require age verification for all websites with a “substantial portion” of “material harmful to minors.”

According to the Arizona Mirror, Rogers’ first draft “suggested doing this by collecting a government-issued ID or digital ID card.”

SB 1503 had already passed the state senate with the support of all Republicans and a few Democrats, but it faltered in the House on Monday when a vote failed to gain bipartisan support.

The current version of the bill, Arizona Mirror reports, asks companies that host the vaguely defined “harmful content” to use either a “commercially available database” or “any other commercially reasonable method” for age verification.

Rogers’ unclearly worded bill, like many of the other copycat bills introduced by religious conservatives in state legislatures across the country, does not define these AV methods.

An Unclear Bill From a Fringe Right Extremist

On Monday, Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) called SB 1503 merely “a statement bill,” arguing against it because, she said, “I don’t feel comfortable making people put in their ID information to access the internet, that is just weird.” 

Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) said that even though he thought the bill “would be great” for “protecting minors,” he thought it presented unavoidable “constitutional problems.”

SB 1503’s architect, Sen. Wendy Rogers is active in the extreme-right fringe of the Republican Party. In March 2022, the Arizona State Senate took the unusual step, in a bipartisan vote, to formally censure her for calling for violence against her political opponents and “damaging the reputation of the Arizona State Senate by her actions.”

Rogers had spoken at a conference organized by white nationalist agitator Nick Fuentes, had “called for her political rivals to be hanged and also “used antisemitic tropes,” NPR reported at the time.

FSC ‘Went to Work’ Lobbying Against Anti-Porn Bill

Free Speech Coalition Director of Communications Mike Stabile told XBIZ today that last month, when the Arizona bill passed out of committee with no opposition, “the FSC got to work.”

Stabile noted that reps for the adult industry trade group “spoke out in the press, our allies, and contacted every legislator in the state with our reasoned opposition to the bill — that we support efforts to keep kids off adult sites, but the bill as written was dangerous, ineffective, and unconstitutional.”

Stabile added FSC was “glad to hear those same arguments being made by legislators this week when voting against this bill. There’s still a chance the bill can come back, but we’ve accomplished an incredible amount in an incredibly short amount of time.”

After “too many states passed this legislation without understanding it,” he explained, “FSC has been in overdrive in the past few months fighting to stop it. We’ve been successful in several states. The industry can stop the madness if we make an effort, but that means actually engaging in the fight, and supporting organizations like FSC that are doing the fighting.”

Stabile stressed that FSC is “working overtime on this, and can do a lot with a little, but are still limited by our resources. We could be doing so much more, but we need more than goodwill. We need dues-paying members who believe this fight is worth winning.”